評(píng)論
打印
Middle East and Africa
中東和非洲
Climate Change and the Nile: Flood and Famine
氣候變化與尼羅河：洪水和饑荒
The country in the Nile basin will suffer if they do not learn to cooperate.
如果尼羅河流域各國(guó)不互相協(xié)作，那么他們將遭受苦難。
To the untrained eye, the satellite photos of north-west Ethiopia on July 10th may have seemed benign.
對(duì)于普通人來(lái)說(shuō)，從7月10日拍攝的阿塞俄比亞西北部的照片上看一切還是正常的。
They showed a relatively small pool of water next to an enormous building site on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile river.
這些照片顯示的是靠近尼羅河主要的支流，青尼羅河上正在修筑的巨大建筑的附近，有著一片相對(duì)較小的水域。
But the project under construction is the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which is more than halfway complete.
但是這項(xiàng)正在修筑的工程是大埃塞俄比亞文藝復(fù)興大壩，項(xiàng)目進(jìn)度已過(guò)半。
And the water is why it is so controversial.
這片水域正是這大壩位置飽受爭(zhēng)議的原因。
Since Ethiopia announced its plan to build the dam, it has inspired threats of sabotage from Egypt, which sits downstream and relies on the Nile for electricity, farming and drinking water.
自從埃塞俄比亞宣布修建大壩的計(jì)劃以來(lái)，它就激發(fā)了來(lái)自下游地區(qū)埃及的破壞威脅，因?yàn)榘＜暗碾娏Α⑥r(nóng)業(yè)和飲用水都依賴于尼羅河。
Egypt claims that it is entitled to a certain proportion of the Nile's water based on colonial-era treaties.
埃及聲稱根據(jù)殖民時(shí)期的條約，它有權(quán)獲得尼羅河的一定的水資源。
Ethiopia dismisses those agreements.
埃塞俄比亞駁回了這些協(xié)議。
The pool of water in the photos suggested that it was beginning to fill the reservoir behind the dam, reducing the river's flow.
照片中的水池表明水壩后面的水庫(kù)將被填滿，從而減少了河水的流量。
That turns out not to have been the case.
事實(shí)證明并非如此。
The pool was deemed by Egypt to be a result of construction and seasonal Nile flooding.
埃及認(rèn)為的大壩其實(shí)是由于建筑物和尼羅河季節(jié)性洪水造成的。
But the alarms it raised are indicative of how sensitive negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have become.
但它造成的緊張局勢(shì)提醒著人們，埃及、埃塞俄比亞和蘇丹之間的談判變得多么敏感。
Talks over such things as how fast to fill the reservoir and how to operate the dam have stumbled.
關(guān)于水庫(kù)要填滿的速度和如何操作大壩等問(wèn)題的討論都以失敗而告終。
And a potentially huge complication looms over any discussion of the Nile's future: climate change.
在關(guān)于尼羅河未來(lái)的討論中，潛在的巨大問(wèn)題是：氣候變化。
By 2050 around a billion people will live in the countries through which the Nile and its tributaries flow.
到2050年底，約有十億人將生活在尼羅河及其支流流過(guò)的國(guó)家。
That alone will put enormous stress on the water supply.
僅這一點(diǎn)就將給供水帶來(lái)巨大壓力。
But according to a study by Mohamed Siam and Elfatih Eltahir of MIT, potential changes to the river's flow, resulting from climate change, may add to the strain.
但是，根據(jù)麻省理工學(xué)院的Mohamed Siam和elfatih Eltahir對(duì)氣候變化造成的河流的流量變化的研究，情況可能會(huì)更加嚴(yán)峻。
Messrs Siam and Eltahir conclude that on current trends the annual flow could increase, on average, by up to 15%.
Siam和Eltahir認(rèn)為，按照當(dāng)前的趨勢(shì)，尼羅河及其支流每年的流量可能會(huì)增加，平均達(dá)15%。
譯文來(lái)源考研英語(yǔ)時(shí)事閱讀
